Various processes for preparing meat analogues from generally vegetable protein sources have been proposed in the past. U.S. Pat. No. 2,682,466, U.S. Pat. No. 2,802,737, U.S. Pat. No. 2,830,902 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,142,571 are examples of proposals for preparing meat analogues from such protein sources as soy bean isolate and peanut protein isolate. Another example is GB-A-1418778, which discloses the preparation of a meat analogue starting from a dry mix of proteins, starches and/or gums. All the above processes may be regarded as examples of meat analogue generation.
Roll-refining is a process which is known for producing proteinaceous food products. GB-A-1432278 describes the roll-refining largely of non-meat proteins, although one of its examples, instead of starting with soya protein or casein, begins with "ground meat", soya protein, water and other additives and another of its examples begins with "ground meat", water, casein rennet and other additives.
Co-pending European application number 89301176.7 describes the roll-refining of a wet dough of a mammalian and/or avian meat protein, at least part of which protein is functionally inert.
These techniques, however, are directed in the above application to using a wet dough of starting material, which on roll-refining is intrinsically capable of forming a cohesive sheet.
GB-A-2170092 describes a method of producing foodstuffs which comprises a plurality of pieces comprised of comminuted material, each piece having an outer gelled skin, characterised by the steps of forming at least one slurry of a first type comprising a gellable material, forming at least one slurry of a second type comprising a soluble gelling activator which will interact with the said gellable material to effect gellation of the said gellable material, bringing together said at least one slurry of a first type and said at least one slurry of a second type to form randomly shaped pieces of one of said slurry types in a matrix of the other of said slurry types, each of said randomly shaped pieces being encapsulated within a gel skin formed by interaction of said gelling activator with said gellable material at the surfaces of said randomly shaped pieces concurrently with said bringing together of said slurries of said first and second types, at least one of said slurry types also comprising a comminuted edible material having food value. The method may be used to make simulated meat and fruit products.